This map represents the final collaborative project for DS 420: Foundations of Geospatial Thinking, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Spring 2025.

Contributors: Anson Ekau, Faith Hardie, Berylin Lau, Samuel Lee, Cody Tengan.
Instructor: Amber Camp

Introduction

The final project for DS 420: Foundations of Geospatial Thinking represents the culmination of everything students explored this semester about how maps are made, what they show, and why they matter.

Throughout the course, we investigated the layers and decisions that shape spatial representation, from coordinate systems and data sources to visual encoding and the politics of map design. This final project brings those foundations together in a collaborative mapping effort grounded in place and practice.

Each student contributed a set of geotagged observations using iNaturalist, connecting local data collection with global platforms and citizen science. We then layered those observations with topographic, agricultural, and land use data to explore spatial relationships on the island of Oʻahu.

This page presents a composite map of our findings, not as a final answer, but as a launch point for deeper inquiry into [food systems, land stewardship, and our own roles as mapmakers and data producers].

Our Story

[need student contribution here]

Here is a map of Hawaiʻi, situated in the middle of the Pacific and circled in red.

And below is a map of the primary islands in the pae ʻāina, or archipelago, of Hawaiʻi. This is what most people envision when they think of Hawaiʻi. Each of the main islands is labeled.

For the rest of the project, the focus will be on the island of Oʻahu, which encompasses Honolulu County, where we live.

Topography of Oʻahu

[Need student contribution here]

We start with a basic map of our island. From here, we add layers of interest.

Note to students: I’m including the topography distribution here for you to see, and filtering out anything below zero. Please let me know if you’d like different “breaks” in the manual color grading of the topography of mountains and valleys. This won’t be in the final draft.

current breaks: 0, 50, 150, 300, 600, 1200

current colors: “#f7fcf5”, “#d9f0d3”, “#a1d99b”, “#41ab5d”, “#006d2c”, “#00441b”

[Need descrption of map: The below map shows topography….. What do the colors and lines represent?]

##    Min. 1st Qu.  Median    Mean 3rd Qu.    Max. 
## -2758.0  -368.0     2.0  -174.4   167.0  1203.0

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Protected Areas on Oʻahu

This map highlights areas on Oʻahu designated as protected. This data comes from OpenStreetMap, and will include land for national parks, marine protection areas, heritage sites, wilderness, cultural assets, and similar.

[Add streets layer. Remove the “small streets”]

This includes: “motorway”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary”

Does not include: “residential”, “living_street”, “unclassified”, “service”, “footway”

See https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_features

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Class observations will go here – need title

As part of this final project, each student contributed real-world biodiversity data by submitting geotagged observations through iNaturalist, a citizen science platform where people around the world document species they encounter. These contributions served as both a hands-on data collection activity and a way to anchor our spatial analysis in lived, local experience.

Students were asked to observe and submit observations from the areas around them. These observations span a range of locations across Oʻahu, and include both cultivated and wild species. When layered onto our composite map, these data points give us a sense of what kinds of biodiversity exist alongside [agricultural zones, protected lands, and built infrastructure.

While this dataset is small and exploratory, it illustrates a core idea of the course: that geospatial thinking begins with asking questions about the places we inhabit, and that maps can bring together formal and informal knowledge in meaningful ways.

Below is a map of the compiled class observations. (doesn’t exit yet–waiting for class contributions)

## [1] 84  6
## Warning in geom_point(data = inat_banana, aes(x = longitude, y = latitude, :
## Ignoring unknown aesthetics: text

And here are our observations plotted as a layer on the map we are building. It is interactive.

NOTE! Using banana data for now. Your data will look different–but think about the plot points and how you’d like them to look.

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Takeaways

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Old stuff:

Let’s try a different view: